"Patriotic" cannabis smuggler working for the CIA?

In the story, previously convicted drug smuggler Allen Long says the load of marijuana he was trying to pick up from a storage facility on the southwest side of Chicago was sanctioned by government officials. Long said he proposed a plan to catch terrorists by posing as a drug smuggler, and a DEA agent...

...liked the idea, so he introduced Long to a CIA official at an Arlington, Va., hotel Aug. 16, 2005 ... Long presented an outline of his plan, Operation WeedEater, to the CIA official, Long said.

The CIA official told Long he could not immediately give him the $250,000 a year for five years and a $50,000 signing bonus he was after, but encouraged him to start schmoozing his smuggler pals and money would eventually come, Long said.

As a result, Long said, he identified corrupt U.S. customs agents in Mexico at a pre-screening facility for trucks crossing the border into the United States and also discovered Indonesians were being smuggled over the border. Indonesia, Long points out, is an al-Qaida stronghold.

In the story, no officials really deny (or confirm) Long's assertion (though some refuse to comment), but Long understands that people may not believe what he says: "I know my defense is like 'the dog ate my homework.'"